Kurisumala Ashram
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Kurisumala Ashram is a Trappist monastery of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, located in the Sahya Mountains of Vagamon, Kerala, India.
History
In 1956, Zacharias Mar Athanasios, then the Bishop of Thiruvalla,[1][2] invited Francis Mahieu, a Trappist monk from Scourmont Abbey in Belgium, to Kerala to establish the ashram.
He was later joined by Bede Griffiths. On 1 December 1956, Mahieu and Griffiths laid the foundation at Tiruvalla in the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church Script error: No such module "Unsubst".. They acquired Script error: No such module "convert". of land[2] and, on 20 March 1958, traveled sixty miles to a mountain known as Kurisumala. The monastery was officially established on 21 March 1958.[1] They soon started a dairy farm with cattle imported from Jersey to support themselves .[2][3]
Within three years, the population of the monastery grew to fifteen individuals.[3][4] Prayer services were initially held in Syriac.[3]
Francis Mahieu later changed his name to Francis Acharya[5] and became an Indian citizen.[6]
The monastery was incorporated as an abbey into the Cistercian Order of Strict Observance in July 1998.[1][3][7]
After Acharya's death, Yesudas Thelliyil became the monastery's second abbot in March 2002.[1]
Bede Griffiths spent the last years of his life at Shantivanam in Tamil Nadu.[8] Francis Acharya became the sole religious leader of the Ashram at Kurisumala. A couple of years before his death in 2002, Acharya, who had remained in touch with the monastery of his youth, had the Kurisumala Ashram affiliated with the Trappists Script error: No such module "Unsubst"..
Name
"Kurisu" is the Malayalam translation of the word "cross," the language of Kerala, while "mala" means mountain and "ashram" means monastery.[4]
Practice
In the monastery, the liturgical services follow the Syro-Malankara tradition and use the Indian Rite Mass.[4][9][10] The Mass includes chants, ceremonies, and symbols adapted from Hindu tradition.[4][11]
The ashram also emphasizes the importance of "bread-labour," where monks engage in farming and housework for several hours each day.[12]
The monks have a nightly satsang, a time of reflection that may include readings from Christian or Hindu texts.[9][10] Kurisumala is seen as a place for both Catholics and those who follow Gandhian philosophy.[13]
The monastery has hosted Hindu guests and religious leaders.[10]
The current abbott is Dom Sevanand Ennamprayil, who succeeded Ishananda Machiyanickal in 2018.[14]
References
- ↑ a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Kerala Backwater website
- ↑ Vagamon website
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Tradition in Action website
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Tradition in Action website
- ↑ Vagamon website
- ↑ Kerala Backwater website
- ↑ OCSO website, Retrieved 2023-06-06
Bibliography
- Francis Acharya: Cistercian Spirituality: An Ashram Perspective, Cistercian (Monastic wisdom series), 2011, 136pp.
External links
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